It Happened one Christmas
by imaginationistheKey123
Summary: AU! Annabeth is an Architect, Percy is Marine biologist. They live in the same building and meet for the first time on Christmas Eve. I know its past Christmas but give it a try
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first story I hope you enjoy! This is Also an AU**

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"So you won't be coming here for Christmas?" The voice of her mother sounded terribly disappointed and suddenly annabeth felt guilty even though it really wasn't her fault that it was snowing for hours now and there was no way she was going to be able to drive all the way to Albany through this weather.

"No, Mom, I'm sorry," she apologized again. "It's really dangerous to drive now. I'll try to come for New Year's Eve though. Don't be upset, okay?"

"I understand,",her mother sighed. "But I'm sad anyway. To think of you all alone on Christmas eve and nobody to keep you company."

Annabeth grimaced. She really loved her family, but after the hard weeks at work in the last month, she was actually looking forward to spend an evening curled on the sofa in front of the TV. She had been dreading drive 2 hours that night to Albany in good weather, with all this snow, she was just grateful she had an excuse to stay at home.

She had just changed into her pajamas and got comfortable on the sofa when a ring at the door to her flat startled her. When she opened the door, she was surprised to see a complete stranger standing before her with messy black. hair and amazing sea green eyes.

"Sorry to bother you on Christmas Eve,", he said in an New York accent and with a friendly smile. " I'm percy jackson the new tenant from the flat under yours. I just moved in today and I wondered if I might use your phone for one short call? You know, there's no electricity in the flat and unfortunately the battery of my mobile is out, too. I really need to call Mrs. Chase..."

"Of course," Annabeth said hastily and opened the door so he could step in. "But I'm afraid Mrs. Chase won't be home tonight." She then added, "I'm Annabeth chase and I'm actually her daughter. So I know she's in Albany for the Holidays, and , the caretaker, has taken a few days off, too!"

"Oh", Percy said. "I see. Well, then maybe I could ring a friend instead? It's bloody cold in the flat, actually since the radiator isn't working either without electricity. Maybe I can sleep somewhere else."

"Sure", Annabeth lead him into her living room. "I really feel awful that you move here into my mothers house and have to freeze on Christmas Eve." She grimaced. "Unfortunately I don't know anything about electricity

"No problem." Percy smiled. "It's not a big deal. I'll just call a few friends. I'm sure one of them will be at home and happy to give me shelter. It's Christmas after all, isn't it? They're probably looking for some charitable thing to do anyway."

Annebeth grinned and handed him her phone. While he did his calls, she went to the kitchen to give him some privacy. After a few minutes Percy appeared at the kitchen door though.

"I think I'll give up", he said, handing her the phone. "It seems everyone is out of town. So I guess I'll just go to the pub around the corner for dinner, but thank you anyway."

"Oh no!", Annabeth exclaimed. "I'm so sorry. I feel really bad. It's my mothers house after all. You'll be freezing tonight without a radiator!"

Percy laughed at her distressed face. "Don't worry. I won't freeze. I just dress a little warmer."

" may I at least offer you something to eat? I actually only was going to have some pasta and a salad which is of course not a real Christmas Dinner, but I feel I have to do something to make it up to you."

Percy looked her for a second with an odd expression. "I'd like that, thank you." He smiled then.

Annabeth nodded. "Good, so why don't you sit and warm you up a bit, while I make us something to eat? Would you like something to drink? Wine, Water, Beer maybe?"

"Wine would be nice," he said and she went to get a bottle.

"Is red okay?" she asked. "I actually don't have anything else, because I don't drink white wine."

"It's perfect. I don't drink white wine either."

He took the glass from her and smiled again. Annabeth detected that he had a very nice smile. He was very attractive anyway. She wondered if she had ever seen any man with such intense green eyes. It was nice how they lit up when he was smiling.

Suddenly he noticed that she was staring and blushed deeply. Gods. She turned around quickly and went to the kitchen. Instead of sitting down on the sofa, Percy followed her though, the wine glass in his hand.

"Can I help you somehow? I can't just sit there and wait to be fed."

"You could make the salad if you like", Percy proposed and showed him where everything he needed was.

Half an hour later they sat opposite each other at her dining table and were chatting like old friends. She had asked him about his work and he told her that he was a marine biologist and the conversation went easily from there to movies to her work as an architect to family and friends, New york to  
Greek mythology and lots of other topics.

Annabeth found it was very easy to talk with him. He was very open and friendly and seemed to take a real interest in everything she said. After their meal, he helped her washing the dishes and they moved to the sofa, still drinking red wine and actually emptying their second bottle.

"So you are 's daughter?", Percy suddenly asked. " isn't she a big architect to?

Annabeth nodded which Percy obviously found very funny, because he started to laugh. Or maybe it was just the wine.

He stood up and she did the same.

"Well", she said a bit awkward. "I wish you a good night then."

"Thank you so much for dinner,I wouldn't say I'm not gonna miss this warm apartment " Percy said and smiled that cute smile again that warmed her heart. Or was it the wine? Annabeth didn't know, but what she did know was that she was feeling very warm under his gaze

Out of the blue he leaned forward and gave her a quick kiss on the lips. "Sleep well", he said

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**Please read and review it will make my day**


	2. Chapter 2

"Wow," Percy whispered. "That was... amazing."

Annabeth only nodded, lying on her back, still gasping for air and staring at the ceiling in wonder.

"Yes," she finally sighed. "It was actually."

Percy turned, leaned his head on his elbow and looked down on her with a half smile.

"So what do we do now?"

"I don't know. What is the usual thing for a one-night stand? Do we just sleep or do you have to leave or what?"

Percy chuckled. "I wouldn't know. I haven't done that before."

"What?" Annabeth sat up in astonishment. "You haven't?!"

"No", he answered and shrugged his shoulders. "I'm actually more the serious kind of guy."

Annabeth plopped back on the bed. "I can't believe it."

That made him chuckle again. "Why? What is so unbelievable about it?"

"Well", she blushed a little. "You seemed so sure. I had no idea you were as new to this as I am."

"Not having one-night stands doesn't mean I haven't had sex before, you know that, don't you? And what do you mean with "new to this"?", he sounded slightly alarmed now. "Seriously you're not saying... You're not _really _new to this, aren't you? I mean... you seemed to know pretty well what to do..."

Annabeth snorted. "I'm not a virgin, no. But about the "You knew pretty well" part..., well you must have been more drunk than you realized. I'm not very good at this, but it was easy with you."

"Not very good at this? You must be kidding!" Percy exclaimed. "In case you didn't notice, Annabeth, this was amazing."

"Maybe you're just easy to please?"

"I can't believe you don't know how good you are," Percy said in an astonished voice he shook his head and looked down on her. "Let me tell you then. I think you're gorgeous and incredibly sexy."

Annabeth smiled. "Okay... I'll try to believe you."

He nodded. "You should!"

He let his head fall back on the pillow and they just laid there for a while in companionable silence.

" Percy?"

"Hm?"

"Let's just sleep, okay? Since we both don't know how to behave at a one-night stand, and I don't want you to go down to your cold apartment."

He turned on his side reached out with his arm and put her close to him.

"I'd like that", he murmured into her hair.

Annabeth snuggled into the cocoon of his arms. It was nice to be held so close. She felt warm and content.

"You smell so nice", he whispered after a minute or so.

"And you feel good", Annabeth chuckled and wiggled her bottom against him.

"Stop it, Wise Girl", he murmured, his voice sleepy. "Or you'll wake him up again..."

Annabeth opened her eyes._ Did he just call me " Wise Girl"? And did he just say "he" referring to his...?_

She grinned when his soft but steady breathing in her ear told her that Percy had fallen asleep. This experience of her first one-night stand really was interesting. She had supposed it would feel very awkward once the passion was sated, but actually it was nice.

And with this thought she drifted to sleep.


	3. Chapter 3

_Sorry this chapter is rather short, but it fit better that way._

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When Percy woke up, he was slightly disoriented and didn't know where he was. Then he felt the warm body of Annabeth still in his arms and the events of the night came back to him. He closed his eyes again and allowed himself to just enjoy the feeling of her for a moment longer. She was obviously still fast asleep, her body snug against his own, one hand cradling his. Percy sighed and breathed in her scent that he had found so intoxicating last night: a certain mixture of vanilla, something flowery and her own personal scent. He remembered how it enveloped him last night when they kissed and later when they...

_"Man, I have to stop thinking about that right now"_. Suddenly he became all too aware of the fact that they were still both naked and that her smooth skin felt wonderful against his own. He just had to spread his fingers a bit and he could cup her breast, or he could let his hand slide down a bit, over her flat stomach down to...

Gods, he could feel himself harden like a rock and if she woke up now, he could really embarrass himself. He had to get some space.

Carefully he disentangled his hand from hers and rolled on his back, taking some deep breaths to calm himself down. "_So what now?"_

He stood up, careful not to wake her and looked for his clothes. There they were, lying on the floor in a crumpled heap. "_Well, we didn't have time to think about clothes yesterday", _he thought with a smile.

Dressed in his boxers and a T-Shirt he went to the kitchen to make coffee, deciding that it was not good to have an awkward conversation without some caffeine first. He had just figured out how the machine worked, when Annabeth appeared in the door, looking adorably sleepy.

"Morning", she mumbled in that slightly husky voice, that had him so completely undone yesterday.

"Good Morning", he smiled. "Merry Christmas. Sorry, I was up so I made some coffee. I hope that's okay?"

He handed her a cup. "Milk? Sugar?"

"Just milk, thank you." Annabeth gave him a tiny smile, "And merry Christmas to you, too."

For a moment, they just stood there drinking at their coffee, both unsure what to do or say next.

"Listen", Percy finally started.

"I..."

Annabeth blushed. "You first", she said.

"Okay. Well, I was going to say that... well, I don't want to sound like a cliché, but it really was... lovely."

Annabeth looked down at her feet. "Yes, it was", she admitted. "But I feel awful now. I have never done anything as foolish as that before. I mean, sleeping with a perfect stranger..."

Percy looked at her intensely: "I told, you, I haven't either. But I mean we're both adults, right? And we used protection, so I don't think you have anything to feel bad about."

"I guess so", she sighed with a rueful grin. "I'm not normally like that,but I did actually enjoy it. "

Percy chuckled. "Don't make a habit out of it, though. I don't want to be held responsible for corrupting a formerly perfectly respectable woman."

Annabeth just grinned and shook her head.

He sipped his coffee again. Then he asked. "I was wondering... I really imposed on your hospitality enough, but may I use your shower? Because you know my radiator..."

"Of course you may", Annabeth answered. "And I will ring my Mother and ask him what we can do about your electricity problem."


	4. Chapter 4

so sorry the last few chapters have been short. I just really wanted to get this chapter up

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After he left her apartment, freshly showered, Annabeth didn't see Percy for the rest of the day. She heard him drill in the apartment at one point though and so she knew he had electricity again.

She tried to be busy all day, because if she was honest to herself, she didn't want to dwell too much on what had happened the night before.

A one-night stand! Really, she had never thought herself capable of doing something like that! She actually had never really cared that much about sex anyway. With, in hindsight now seemed not so surprising when this one night-stand had been by far the best sex she'd ever had. That was actually a good thing. She hadn't been exactly heartbroken when she split with her long-term boyfriend Luke Castellan last spring, but it always nagged at her that she found him cheating on her with his secretary. It wasn't good for your self-confidence when your boyfriend told you he just had to have a "good Fuck" from time to time because "you suck at it".

She had tried to shrug that off, but she knew that comment had stung.

_"Not me, Luke . You were the one who sucked. Because I know now how really good it can feel if a man knows how to do it!",_ she thought with a slight smile.

Percy Jackson. She thought about him downstairs in his apartment. What does he think of her? He had said she was "lovely" and "gorgeous" and "incredibly sexy". Wow. Even if he was just using lines, it still was kind of nice to hear something like that, especially if it came from a man who was so terribly hot himself. Oh dear, she was pathetic. She didn't need a one-night stand to gain self-confidence. She had enough to be proud of. She was intelligent, independent and successful, and before yesterday she'd thought that was enough.

She sighed and decided to go for a walk in the snow instead of sitting in her flat all day and thinking about her very uncharacteristic behaviour from the night before. She could just go into town even though the shops would be closed, but she needed some fresh air to clear her head. Maybe she would grab a coffee somewhere, too. Then she would come home, eat something in front of the TV, watch some corny Christmas special and then go to bed early and ... alone.

The walk did her good. She came home after two hours, her cheeks rosy and in good spirits. But then she almost bumped into Percy when she opened the door to the house and suddenly she was all awkward again.

"Oh," she stammered and to her horror blushed deeply when she recognized who was standing before her. "Sorry."

He seemed blissfully unaware of her embarrassment and just smiled as if he was happy to see her.

"Hi, Annabeth," he said. "How are you?"

She mumbled something about being fine and then asked if he had electricity now, even though she knew he had, but she just wanted to say something.

"Yes! I'm fine now. I actually did get a lot done today, so I'm already feeling at home now. I was just taking out the garbage, but would you... would you like to see the apartment? I can even offer you a coffee now."

Her first instinct was to say no and run, but he was so eager and nice and yes, devastatingly handsome, she couldn't resist. So she nodded and heard herself saying, "Sure, yes, I'd like that."

She wasn't sure if it was a good idea though,


	5. Chapter 5

Percy was strangely happy to have met Annabeth on his way out. He had worked like crazy all day, but his thoughts drifted to her again and again while he unpacked, hung up pictures and lamps, installed the kitchen and moved his furniture around.

He liked how the apartment looked now and was interested in her opinion, which was odd, because he didn't really know her. He tried to tell himself that it was because he had seen her apartment and so he knew she had good taste.

Truth be told though, he was very attracted to her, embarrassingly so. The moment she opened her apartment door last night had been a very odd moment, where he took in her whole appearance in one glance and it caused an immediate rush of blood through his whole body. She was just perfect. Face, eyes, lips, smile, skin, body... he couldn't help but stare and had probably stammered his request for a phone call very badly, but if he had, she didn't seem to notice.

Instead she had talked to him and her voice had sent the next rush of blood to his groin. Husky, deeper than he had thought and incredibly sexy. Whoa...

What followed was still a mystery to him. He had no idea what possessed him to kiss her when he said goodbye and he still didn't know how it happened that they ended up in bed together. It probably was a combination of too much wine on her side and too much lust on his. Otherwise, he couldn't explain what made her go through with it. She didn't seem the type to sleep with random men and had told him as much this morning. Still they had done it. Not that he minded, Gods, no. It had been amazing. Absolutely amazing.

Now here she was in his apartment, sitting on his sofa, holding a cup of coffee in her hand and looking around curiously with a smile on those beautiful lips he had kissed not twelve hours ago.

"It's nice," she said. "And I'm astonished how good it looks already! To think you only had today to do that and all by yourself!"

"Well, I'm a bit of a handyman," he grinned. "Actually I was a mechanic before I went to college , so I can work with my hands."

_"Yes you can," Annabeth _thought and blushed furiously. Where did that thought come from? _"I clearly remember what your hands were capable of last night..."_

"You were a mechanic?" she asked hastily to cover her embarrassment.

Percy nodded. "Yes, I'm a working class kid, you know. No one in my family went to College. My father had a garage in Boston and they expected me to take over someday. Luckily another brother of mine had more passion for cars than I and so I could follow my real ambition."

"They must be proud though, aren't they? That you're a marine biologist now?"

"I think they are. At least my mother is, my father Left us before I got my degree. But once I made the decision, he always supported me, so yes, I guess he's proud of what I'm doing." Percy grinned, but there was something in his eyes that told her it still hurt him to talk about his father.

"I'm sorry," she said. "When did it happen?"

"Three years ago," he answered. " He left without a warning."

He took another sip of coffee and changed the subject. "So tell me, why are you not with your family tonight?

"No, it's just because of the weather. I had to work till yesterday evening and I didn't want to drive four hours in the snow. So I've decided to stay here. It's the first time I've not been home for Christmas ever, actually."

"Me, too," he said. "My mother was very upset and wanted to strangle me through the phone. Christmas is a big deal for the Jacksons and we're normally all at home. I have two brothers, both married and one has a child and all of us have to be there for Christmas and get fed." He laughed.

Annabeth smiled. "Do you miss them?"

Percy looked at her for a long moment, a strange expression in his blue eyes. "Not as much as I probably should." He then smiled, too.

Somehow Annabeth felt herself get all flustered under his gaze, hastily put her coffee down and stood.

"Well, I should probably be going," she said. "You probably still have work to do and ..."

"Do you have to?" he asked. At her surprised glanced, he blushed a little bit. "I mean, no, I don't have anything to do really. And actually I was wondering if we..."

"No, Percy , I don't think that's a good idea," Annabeth interrupted him. "I mean we really just met and..."

"Actually I was just wanting to ask you, if you would like to go to dinner with me sometime." Percy continued.

Annabeth hesitated. "You mean like a real date?"

"Yes," he nodded. "I'll be honest with you, Annbeth. I really like you. So yes, I want to ask you out."

"Isn't that a bit odd, considering that we already had... I mean you know..."

He smiled his cocky half smile. "Why should it be awkward? We go out on a date, you won't let me kiss you, because you never do that on a first date, then we'll go on another and another and then maybe if you like me, we'll already know what to look forward to."

Annabeth blushed, then looked at him and raised her chin.

"You're right," she said. "I never kiss on the first date."

He grinned. "I figured."

God, he was hot when he did that. Annabth felt butterflies in her stomach. _"What the heck"_, she thought. _"Life's short."_

So she gave him a look under her lashes. "Why don't we just skip all that dating thing?"

She had the satisfaction to see his jaw drop. But he recovered quickly, she had to give him that. He just reached out with his hands and pulled her to him. Leaning in to kiss her, he murmured against her lips: "Aye, why don't we?"


	6. Chapter 6

_This chapter sadly is the shortest in the story, but you'll understand why I just HAD to end it at this point when you've read it._

_I'll try to post every day, so please keep reading. It means a lot to me if you enjoy it!_

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This time it wasn't frenzied and passionate like the night before. Instead it was so slow and tender and really wonderful, that Annabeth actually had to swallow hard when she came down from her shuddering climax so she wouldn't start to cry.

Afterwards they lay both on their sides, staring at one another with a huge smile on their faces.

"The most incredible, wonderful afternoon sex, hm?" Percy said softly. "I don't think that's in the description for something casual, is it?"

Annabeth shook her head. "I don't think so."

He reached out and stroke her face. "What is happening here, Annabeth?" he asked with a slight tremble, betraying his uncertainty.

"I have no idea," she sighed. "But I like it, don't you?"

"I do," he smiled. "God, I really do. I just feel a bit like I'm about to wake up from this dream at any moment. It can't be real, can it? You can't fall for someone in minutes... and I feel like I'm falling for you so hard."

"Until yesterday I would have said it is impossible," she said honestly. "I'm not so sure any more. It sure feels that way for me, too."

His hand drew her closer and he kissed her showing her how he felt without words. As the kiss grew more heated, Annabeth relaxed and let the feeling of tenderness wash over her. She relished the closeness, the warmth of his arms, the smoothness of his skin against hers, his taste, his hands stroking her, exciting her ... it was impossible what she felt, but she was past the point of caring what it meant. She just felt. Felt and enjoyed.

Suddenly there was a ring at the door.

"Who in hell can that be?" Percy groaned.

It rang again. He looked down on her with a comical expression of desperation.

It rang a third time.

"Fuck!" he swore. "Whoever this is, I'll kill him!" He stood up, and put on his jeans without even bothering to put on his boxers first.

"Don't move," he said to Annabeth, who was lying on his bed, slightly dishevelled, her eyes, half lidded with passion and her lips swollen from his kisses.

With another groan he went to the door barefoot and without a shirt.

"Ah! There you are, Perce! I was almost afraid you wouldn't be home! Did you just come out of the shower?"

"Mom?!"


	7. Chapter 7

"Honestly, Perce, did you think we would all abandon you on Christmas! No way! So Tyson booked us a flight and a hotel and here we are! Don't be alarmed, we brought all the food!" His mother stepped into his apartment without hesitation and looked curiously around her.

Tyson and Nico also followed together with his niece.

"Nice to see you, bro", his brother Tyson, said and man hugged . "What were you doing? You look a bit underdressed."

"I was just... uh...,"Percy stuttered, dumbfounded.

"I know you said, don't move, but I was wondering what took you so long, so I...", Annabeth said, coming out of the bedroom, wearing his shirt and nothing else, stopping dead at the sight of the suddenly very quiet and shocked Jackson family in front of her.

"Oh my god," she gasped.

Nico let out a whistle. "Holy shit, Perce," he laughed.

"Don't say shit, Nico," his mother chided automatically. "Not in front of your daughter."

Suddenly Percy awoke from his stupor and went to Annabeth.

"I'm so sorry," he whispered. Turning to his family, he said. "Well, all, this is Annabeth. We'll be right back" and ushered her back into the bedroom.

Closing the door behind him, he leaned heavily against it and drew a deep breath.

"I'm so terribly sorry," he repeated to Annabeth. "I really, honest to gods, had no idea they were coming here!"

He watched her with a heavy heart. Did his family blow everything now? Things had been progressing so well with Annabeth and he really, really didn't want to scare her now.

To his huge amazement, Annabeth was laughing though. "Oh my... how embarrassing! I always thought something like that only happened in movies!"

Reluctantly he broke into a grin, too. "I'll never hear the end of that, trust me."

"What now?" she giggled. "Is there a window through which I can escape?"

He shook his head. "I'm afraid not." Not sure how she might react, he tentatively said: "Come on, let's face them together. They'll be polite to you, I swear. They'll be only teasing me for the rest of my life."

She just grinned and gave him a light kiss on the cheek. Then she started redressing.

"I'm glad we didn't start our little session in the living room," she remarked. "At least all our clothes are in here!"

He just looked at her. Then he walked over, took her in his arms and kissed her soundly.

"You're great, you know that?" he said with awe. "The most wonderful girl I've ever met."

"What in heaven's name were you doing with that girl? Why haven't you mentioned before that you had a girlfriend?" Percy's mother hissed a little later, after she dragged him into the kitchen pretending to need his help to find her way around the cupboards.

Annabeth rolled his eyes, avoiding her last question. "Come on, Ma. Don't pretend you don't know what we were doing."

"On Christmas day of all days," she said, reproachfully. "It's a sin."

Percy laughed. "It's always a sin, Ma. Need I remind you? On Christmas it is not worse than on any other day."

"Don't distract me with a theological debate. I want to know about that girl now," his mother demanded. "Is it something serious?"

Percy had the grace to blush a little. _If only you knew, Ma, that I met her not 24 hours ago and we already had sex twice._

"I don't know," he answered truthfully. "I like her a lot though. And I fancy her like crazy."

"Fancy her!" his mother complained. "I wouldn't think you're almost thirty years old. I mean look at her! She seems nice enough from what I saw, but she must make much more money than you do, Percy . God, the clothes she's wearing. I'm no expert, but I'm a woman and I swear that Jeans was not bought at pennies!"

"She's a Architect,and her mother is the owner of the house here." Percy shrugged his shoulders. "So what? I'm making good money myself. What is the point in all that? You don't know her at all, do you?"

He was getting annoyed now, so he just left his mother standing in the kitchen and went to look after Annabeth. He found her sitting on the sofa and talking to Tyson who stood up when he sat down next to her.

"Is Ma in the kitchen, Perce? He said and left them alone.

"Hi," he greeted Annabeth and couldn't stop the odd warm feeling in his stomach and the happy smile that made the corners of his mouth turn upward.

"Hi!" She smiled back, her face betraying her uncertainty about the whole situation. "Actually I was just saying that I should go up to my flat. I don't want to interrupt your family evening."

"If anyone was interrupting something it's them," he groaned, frustrated. "Don't go," he pleaded. "I promise the food is worth it and I feel so horrible to bring you in this situation in the first place. They can behave, really."

"I don't doubt it. But I feel like I'm intruding."

"No, you're not," he said. "I mean, if you're bored, of course I'd understand that you would want to spend your evening doing something other than talking to the Jacksons, but if you're not, please stay. I'd be happy if you do. I'm worried that if you go now, you might never want to see me again."

He looked into her eyes. "And that would be really, really bad."

"No," she shook her head. "You don't need to worry about that. I'm already determined to get to know you better, I thought I made that pretty clear earlier?" She raised her eyebrows.

He grinned, his eyes growing suddenly dark with desire and he kissed her cheek tenderly. "I would so love to have more proof of that determination," he whispered in her ear. "You think I can tell them to sod off as soon as we had Dinner? Will you please stay then?"

Annabeth suddenly felt goosebumps all over her body. "I guess", she nodded. "I will."

"Oh come on, Perce, stop it," he heard Nico's voice from across the room. "Leave the poor girl alone for now. Do you have something to drink in the apartment?"

Percy rolled his eyes and stood. "I'll get you something. But I just moved in here yesterday, so I'm not really prepared to having guests here. All I can offer is some beer."

"Guinness?" his brother asked hopefully.

"No, Lager", Percy said. "They didn't have Guinness in the supermarket around the corner."

"Now sit, children!" his mother's voice shouted from the kitchen. "Dinner's ready!" She came out with a big turkey on a plate.

"Wow, Ma," Percy said and held the chair next to him for Annabeth. "How did you manage that? You can't have cooked the turkey in just an hour!"

His mother smiled proudly. "I made him yesterday and so I just had to warm it. Did the same with the potatoes and the stuffing. I couldn't just let you be all alone at Christmas in London."

"He didn't seem very lonely to me," Tyson grinned and Percy kicked him under the table. "But the turkey looks good, Ma."

"It looks delicious," Annabeth said warmly.

"So, Annabeth," Percy's's mother started when they all had their food. "Percy said you are a architect?"

"Yes, I am," Annabeth answered. "I work at a Firm not far from here. It's just a few minutes."

"What is your specialty?" Nico asked and Percy realized that he didn't know either. They hadn't gotten that far. There was so much he wanted to know about her. ( are there even architect specialty's?)

" Blueprinting," Annabeth answered and noticed Percy looking up and staring at her with slightly shocked eyes.

"Oh dear," Percy's mother said. "That must be so hard."

Annabeth nodded. "It is,sometimes" she said truthfully. "But it's also very rewarding.

Percy searched for her hand under the table and squeezed it. He was moved she could sense that. She smiled at him and squeezed back. It was oddly nice to feel his warm fingers envelop her own. She found that she didn't want to let go of his hand and decided to indulge herself. So she just ate with her other hand and Percy did the same, not caring about the amused glances his brothers gave them.

They didn't take part in the lively conversation that now developed between Percy's siblings and their spouses. They just sat there, content to listen and holding hands. From time to time, Percy looked towards her and smiled and she smiled back. Annabeth didn't know what was happening, but each time he looked at her she felt as if she had never been more happy in her life.


	8. Chapter 8

There is a snowstorm where I live so I might post two chapters today

* * *

"What are you doing on New Year's Eve?" Annabeth asked Percy much later.

Percy decided not to kick his family out after dinner, so they stayed for a couple of hours and it had actually been a very nice and lively evening. Annabeth had enjoyed the warmth of the family's easy banter and conversation. It was clear to her where Percy got his charm, because his brothers had it, too, even if Nico and Tyson, in her admittedly biased opinion, weren't nearly as attractive as their brother. But all the Jackson men were funny and quick-witted as was their mother.

It was nearly midnight, when the family finally took their leave and went to their hotel. For a second Annabeth felt awkward and didn't know if she should at least make an impression of going to leave, too even if she certainly didn't want to, but Percy simply held her hand in his while he said goodbye to his family, thanking them for coming all the way from Boston and without ever letting go of her he finally closed the door behind them.

He didn't say a word then, losing no time to take Annabeth in his arms, kissing her like he had thought of nothing else for the last couple of hours or so and if he was honest, he hadn't.

Annabeth found herself responding. There was no pretence between them any more and it didn't take them long to end up exactly where they had been when the Jacksons had turned up earlier in the evening, their clothes scattered on the floor and both lying on his bed, out of breath and staring at one other. Percy was playing with her hair, stroking it out of her face and grinning when her curls always tended to fall over her eyes again as soon as she made a slight move with her head.

It was then, that Annabeth asked about his plans for New Year's Eve.

"I don't know", he said. "But since you ask, I'd like to spend it with you. Actually", he sighed, "I know it sounds crazy, but I don't want to spend an evening without you right now."

She smiled. "Be careful what you wish for. I'm going to Albany to visit my parents, and I was wondering if you'd like to come with me?"

Percy raised his eyebrows. "To your parents?

"Yes to my parents, I must warn you though. It's a pretty boring dinner event every year", Annabeth said. "So my reason to ask is purely selfish. It would be nice to have at least someone there who's under a hundred years old. Except my siblings that is."

"If you want me to come, I'll do it," he promised. "But do you think they're OK with it?

she smiled "There's one thing though ..." She seemed to be unsure how to say it.

He looked at her in askance.

"I don't suppose you own a tux?" she asked. "If not, that's not a problem, we can rent one for you."

"Well ..."

"Or we could ask my brother Malcom , he's about your height I think and he has a spare. In fact, I could call him and ask him if you want, it's really not a problem ..."

"Annabeth!"

She stopped mid sentence, realizing that she was babbling.

He grinned at her. "Actually I own a tux."

"You do?" she asked surprised.

"Yes," he said. "I don't have one-night stands and I own a tux. You do have to learn a lot about me, don't you?"

"Obviously!" she said. "You're full of surprises."

He grinned and rolled her over so she was under him. "How about I show you more?"


End file.
